The ABA Journal asks, What Was Your Most Memorable Law School Class Session?:

What was your most memorable law school class? What happened in that class? A special guest lecture? A spectacular gaffe by the professor or another student?

My most memorable class was when, teaching estate planning as an adjunct at Cornell, I asked several questions of a student presenting his seminar paper at the front of the room.  The student suddenly said "I'm not feeling well" and passed out, hitting his head on the lecturn as he fainted, opening a gash on his forehead.  I remember wondering whether socratic assault was a crime.  I feared that my nascent teaching career was over, but the episode actually helped me in the meat market the following year.  The chair of CIncinnati's appointments committee expressed admiration, saying "I've taught for over 20 years and, despite my best efforts, I've never drawn blood in the classroom." (Five years later, he told me how disappointed he was after sitting in on my class as part of my tenure review — I was not nearly as "tough" as he had expected.)  The kicker of the story is that when the student came to, his first words were "This isn't going to affect my grade, is it?"

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